


> entry forty-three: twin forges

by orphan_account



Series: Shards of Hyalus [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 17:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7276576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one shots that recount the lore of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6987550/chapters/15923113">Mirror Image</a>, and will be narrated by David Strider (Alpha Dave), the Late King of Skaia.<br/>This entry looks at the Twin Forges of Hyalus, the traditions and beliefs that were caused by these forges, and a brief look into the afterlife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	> entry forty-three: twin forges

ive always been interested in the forges, genesis and provenance, yet more fucking duality, hyalus is built on the damn thing. well it turns out, a normal planet should only have one forge, and that something went wrong when seeding hyalus, im not entirely sure which forge should not have landed, but i do know im grateful they both did.

the forges are the reason why skaians and alternians are so different, our genetic code is imprinted into the forge before it is even formed, as such when it lands it would begin to seed life onto the world it collides with. this probably doesnt make any sense to you so let me be more specific, a forge starts out as a meteor, or a “seed” which travels through the universe until it reaches a planet. once it collides with the planet, a volcano known as “the forge” is formed, and near it, a temple is spawned, within this temple, you’ll find a first guardian, a being that watches over the newly formed life. as such i have deducted that these meteors originate within the green star, and also that hyalus is the only planet close enough to it to even fucking see the star in the first place.

but the star ive talked about enough before so just wait till you get to that if you havent already. what? no im not going to mess with this stuff more than i already am. so just be fucking patient and you’ll get more info on the star.

what i do know for certain is that the genesis forge is the younger of the two forges. skaians as such are a younger race than alternians, hence why our horned cousins across the oceans are more advanced. dont get me wrong were getting there too but it takes time. genesis is under research by skaianet, skaias leading creative minds, and good friends of my family, have been for generations. might become more than that if...actually nevermind, ill let you deal with that bridge when you get to it. excuse you no im not fucking smirking you cant even see me for crying out loud. do you want to know more about this forge or not? and if not what the fuck are you doing reading my rambling?

the forge is located on an island, west of the southern battlefield and therefore southeast of the mainland. on said island is also the headquarters for skaianet, convenient right. but the interesting part is the temple near the forge. if i paid attention correctly the temple represents life itself, and was “grown” rather than built, to prove this, there’s another one just like it near the second forge. both are nearly identical, our one is purple, theirs is gold. inside the temple is the code that the forge unleashes, at least from what weve found out so far, as well as some terminals we havent managed to get working, and lastly, a “lotus time capsule”. whereas provenance, the alternian forge, can be found in the jade desert named after the caste that dominates the area, it is also the main entrance to their “brooding caverns” due to the strong connotations of life a forge has.

it is believed that a forge is a gateway between the waking world, our world hyalus and the dream world, the realm of the dead, the afterlife. it has one foot on each side so to speak, as far as volcanos can have feet in this ridiculous metaphor. therefore hypothetically, as a gateway it could be used both ways.

many of our traditions allude to this gateway, from both sides of the ocean. for example, when someone dies, on skaia it is customary for the body to be cremated, while on alternia the body is left for nature to deal with it, sort of giving back what was taken during an alternians lifespan, so to speak. it is basically unheard of for someone to be buried instead, this is because were an eternal dreamer, or plainly put a spirit, able to cross over using the forge, this “dream self” would become their “waking self” their new body in simpler terms. we believe it to be a bad omen to keep the body preserved, when the revived dreamer has no use for it. infact if a body is buried instead of cremated or returned to nature, it is said they never had a soul, that theyre something else. during the early years after the war, and occasionally in the present, those of magical blood are buried, a cruel gesture to antagonise and even remove people like me from the “skaian race” worse when alternians are killed and buried by bigots for the same reasons. similar things happen across the ocean between classes of the hemospectrum, its disgusting honestly, infact id rather not talk about this subject any longer, especially since...no im done moving on.

another legend, so to speak, talks about what were to happen to a dreamer if it did succeed to cross over. theres more to it than being alive again, it is believed that the dreamer would “ascend” become immortal, a demigod, fully realising their potential. of course as magical beings this immortality has conditions, its subject to the same rules as the death of any other magical being, which ill get onto at some other point. when i get to talking about the dream world.

on alternia it is said the light of the forge guides the way in the darkness. alternians being nocturnal they associate the forge with light, as such candles are a big part of their beliefs. the all hallows festivities, which heavily incorporates candles, originate on alternia, to honour dreamers who have yet to pass through the forge into the afterlife. pumpkins are carved and lit with candles as a guiding light for new dreamers to cross over and help them move on. the idea of candles being used on birthdays to make a wish is also alternian, though placing them on cakes is a skaian adaptation. once again the candles are supposed to guide the person making the wish, to allow them to grow.

fire, heat, lava etc are very important symbols to us on skaia, many of our festivals revolve around fire and the forge, our most ancient is the “stoking of the forge” which occurs on the last day of winter. each year a shrine is lit, it represents the forge and the temple, there are 13 beacons, one for each of the aspects that formed our world, and the last to represent the forge itself. it is lit before midnight, as the world transitions from the end of winter to the beginning of spring, where life is awakened once more. i...i died on the day the stoking of the forge was supposed to occur for the third year since i was crowned, and despite what i think on the matter, they cancelled it, ambrose hasn’t allowed the festival to take place ever since, that was eighteen years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Ambrose, like most Striders, may not be good at emotions and especially not mourning, but its understandable he wouldn't be able to see the Stoking of the Forge as a happy event anymore, though it is a shame that such an important part of Skaian culture was discontinued.  
> Talking about what happens to the dead, especially when burials are concerned, seems to be a sore subject for the Late King, I wonder why.  
> Discuss these points if you want to, I mean I would love to hear from you, and don't forget to read the main fic.


End file.
